November A&R Department: Shark School, Ria Timkin, Virgins, Pinhole & more

Galway scuzz rockers Shark School comprehensively kick out the jams on ‘Choose Life’, a furious punk wig-out which nods towards the likes of Mannequin Pussy, SPRINTS and (lyrically) Wet Leg but has an urgency and ‘fuck you’ attitude all of its own.

Nora Staunton, Peggy Ford, Meg Bruce and Cathal Curran have done plenty of dues-paying opening for the likes of NewDad, The Love Buzz and Elaine Malone and had many a foot tapping/head banging at Ireland Music Week.

The limited-edition 7” version is available from https://sharkschool.bandcamp.com/music…

Belfast newcomer Ria Timkin tickles our earbuds with ‘The Difference’, an atmospheric slice of what she calls – with justification – “cinematic alternative pop.”

Citing Gaga, Imagine Dragons, Halsey and Lorde as influences, the classically trained pianist has not one but two law degrees, gone down a storm at Glastonbury and received lots of BBC Introducing support.

We don’t expect Ms. Timkin’s currently label-less status to last for long…

Gaza, the marriage equality referendum, personal relationships and our treatment of the elderly are all dissected on Sweet Spot, the debut album from Pinhole, the Dingle-based duo comprising of Clare O’Flynn and Mark McLoughlin.

Redolent of the likes of Anna Calvi, Portishead and Bat For Lashes, it manages to be both experimental and hook-laden with a couple of tracks that wouldn’t sound out of place on the, hint hint, RTÉ Radio One playlist.

O’Flynn notes that but for her inclusion in the Basic Income For Artists pilot scheme the record probably wouldn’t have happened, which would have deprived of us of a collection that yields something new and vital with every play…

It may be autumn but the vibes are all summery on ‘Yes, Of Course’, the latest from Irish-Sierra Leonean hip hopper Ahmed, With Love.

Based in Dublin, the 24-year-old has shared a stage/studio with the likes of Negro Impacto, Curtisy, Rory Sweeney and E The Artist and proved during Ireland Music Week that he’s got live chops too...

Also impressing at Ireland Music Week was Ramper, the Donegal alt-folker also known as Declan McClafferty who wouldn’t have sounded out of place alongside the likes of Kimya Dawson and Belle and Sebastian on the Juno soundtrack.

We’re especially fond of ‘If You Want A Good Dream’, his woozily narcotic new single which finds the former In Their Thousands member rocking out goodo towards the end…

Gavin Fox returns with Illuminate, his second album which is already enjoying lots of radio airplay courtesy of lead single ‘Slip Inside My Mind’.

A singer-songwriter who, hurrah, sounds nothing like Ed Sheeran, he’s been variously compared to Paulo Nutini, Kings Of Leon and U2 – his guitar jangle is very reminiscent of The Edge.

The various formats include a stunning coffee table book featuring behind the scenes photography, the lyrics, Gavin’s thoughts and a QR code which allows you to download and stream the nine-tracker…

Kevin Twomey beguiles with Roundabout, a four-tracker recorded in a tiny Paris apartment with Gallic collaborator Guillaume Amoureux.

Inspired by Beck’s Sea Change and sounding not dissimilar to another hero of his, Kevin Morby, it’s already gained plenty of traction in France and should have equal appeal here…

Former HappyAlone man Paddy Hennessy gets blissed out and spacey on ‘creatures’, his latest shoegaze-y release as Echo Northstar.

“Clambering from silence to meet the rising and falling tides of unknown, undiscovered joys,” it says on the Leesider’s Bandcamp and, well, we couldn’t have put it better ourselves…

Fellow sonic cathedral builders Virgins – we’ve previously described the Belfast quintet as “the most promising fuzz guitar band since My Bloody Valentine” – gift us ‘gliss’ before heading out on a UK tour that includes an Other Voices Wales stop-off.

The band’s Nothing Hurt And Everything Was Beautiful album has rightly made it on to an all-killer, zero-filler Northern Ireland Music Prize shortlist that also features the likes of Cherym, Conchur White, David Holmes, Exmagician and Kneecap.